3 Mistakes to Avoid When Closing on Your Dream Home

3 Mistakes to Avoid When Closing on Your Dream Home

Are you are first time home buyer?

Not sure how to close on your dream home?

This weekend, my wife and I saw the new Superman movie, Man of Steel, at the Emagine Theater in Novi, Michigan. It was amazing. I highly recommend the movie and seeing it in that theater.

Today, I am sharing about mistakes to avoid when you are closing on what hopefully, with the right realtor, is your dream home. Often times, people do not realize how much it will cost to close on a house. Closing costs are fees in addition to what you are paying for the home itself.

Knowledge is power. Knowing beforehand what to do is going to give you a huge advantage and in cities like Novi where houses are just ripe for the plucking, you’ll be glad you avoided these mistakes.

1. It’s Like a Wedding Dress

Or, at least that’s what my wife tells me. The search for your dream home is similar to a bride search for her dream dress. Sometimes a bride will find “the one” on the first day she started looking. Because it’s the first day, she thinks that this one couldn’t be “the one”. She keeps coming back to in her mind over and over and finally buys “the one”.

Sometimes searching for a house is like that. When you know, you know. The mistake that you are avoiding here is passing up on your dream house because you haven’t been searching long enough.

2. Scan the Neighborhood

Picture this, you have the house that you want to buy picked out and you are on your way to put an offer down. As you are driving through the neighbor, you see a group of 5 kids on their bikes. They stare you down, and then they start chasing your car bombarding it with eggs. This particular neighborhood has a problem with its youth.

I know this may be an extreme example. However, that house may no longer be your dream home. Finding the right neighborhood especially if you have kids, can almost be as important as finding the right house.

Here is what Boston.com had to say about checking up on the new neighbors,

“Investigating neighboring properties is another must. It could be a boon, such as land preserved in a trust – your own private nature reserve – or a bust, like a house known for drug arrests or a group home occupied by recovering addicts, whose cigarette smoke wafts up to your windows day and night.”

3. Make sure the house passes inspection

Whether or not an inspection is included in the closing costs, I highly recommend that a professional come in and inspect the home before you go through with the purchase.

Once you’ve purchased the home, the hidden termites that honestly no one knew about, is now your problem.

These reasons are why it is important to have an honest and trustworthy realtor by your side to make sure that you not only find your dream house, but also that it really is the perfect home for you.

What is the number 1 thing you want in your dream home? Is it great lighting, a three car garage, a good neighborhood or great schools?